Injuries and Wildcards – Pipe 2017

Kelly Slater - IN

We've said it since J-Bay; Pipe is where we'll likely see him return. Some called for an 11th-hour entry at Portugal, but they were wrong.

Pipe is the biggest stage in surfing, and Kelly loves a spectacle.

Will the come-back event prove a successful one? That's between him and the fates, but Kelly, at this rating/price vs. his level of experience, has got to be the safest fantasy 'risk' this season.

Nat Young - OUT

Nat scored a bunch of events as an injury replacement, but the King wanted his spot back.

Dusty Payne - IN as trials winner

Dusty is the ultimate wildcard for this event. He has done the hours at Pipe and also has a couple of years CT experience (his best result was a 5th at Rio). Dusty is coming back from a big injury break, but he looks refreshed and at the top of his game.

Benji Brand - IN as trials runner-up

Benji is a South-African-cum-Hawaiian goofy-footer who is probably best known for his incredible Go Pro clips of Namibia. To finish 2nd at a good day at Pipe against some high-quality trialists is no easy feat.

Event Heat Draw

Update: All seeds are in place except for wildcards. Benji is literally ONE place above Dusty on the QS rankings (72nd and 73rd respectively). This means that we will see Benji in Heat 5 against Gabriel and Pupo and Dusty against John and Wiggolly in H6.

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Balyn grew up on the east coast of Australia, nourishing his passion for surfing through a diet of empty beach breaks, Taylor Steele VHS cassettes and poor amateur competition results. As one of the head writers/analysts for Surf-Stats, he is as comfortable tearing through spreadsheets as he is 6' left-handers.